Welcome to the School of Public Policy

Formerly the Center for Public Policy and Administration

The School of Public Policy (SPP) is the hub of interdisciplinary public policy research, teaching and engagement at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, dedicated to realizing social change and solving problems for the common good.

News

The School of Public Policy (SPP) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has moved to Thompson Hall from its former spaces across campus in Gordon Hall. All of SPP’s core faculty and staff are now located on the second floor of Thompson. SPP began there in 1998, when what was then called the Center for Public Policy and Administration was established.

“This move will strengthen our relationships with departments located nearby,” explains SPP Director Alasdair Roberts. “Our work is interdisciplinary, so everything the school does is focused on collaboration."

The University of Massachusetts School of Public Policy (SPP) is welcoming another large class for this academic year, with forty-three students newly registered in its accelerated and two-year master’s programs. Combined with other full- and part-time enrollment, the SPP community now includes almost 70 student members.

Gina McCarthy, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under former President Barack Obama, will give the keynote address to the North East Graduate Student Water Symposium (NEGSWS) on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 11 a.m. in the Engineering Lab II auditorium at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The event is free and open to the public.

Laura Sylvester, MPPA/MPH ’16, traveled to the Massachusetts State House in Boston on July 27 to celebrate Governor Baker signing a bill she helped create and shape as a graduate student -- the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.